Multi-talented and award-winning performer Queen Latifah will honor teachers when she hosts and narrates TEACH, a new two-hour special that explores America's education system through the eyes, minds and hearts of its most essential resource - teachers, when it premieres Friday, Sept. 6 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
The special, from Academy Award winner
Davis Guggenheim ("The First Year," "Waiting for Superman," "An Inconvenient Truth") and Participant Media, captures the essence of what it means to be a teacher through the lens and extensive footage of a year-in-the-life of four public school teachers.
A musician, television and film actress, author, entrepreneur and headliner of her new upcoming
Syndicated talk show,
Queen Latifah is the proud daughter of a New Jersey public school teacher who fully recognizes the importance of inspiring young minds to strive to become the next generation of great educators.
"There is no profession more essential than that of an educator, and it's time for all of us to embrace and celebrate their importance and contribution to America's children," said
Queen Latifah. "My mother was a teacher at the same high school I attended, and she was a great teacher who, in fact, was loved by all and played an important role in so many of her students' lives. I'm proud to be a part of TEACH and help to shine a light on the individuals whose job it is to motivate and mentor our most important resource."
TEACH will give an intense and emotional illustration of how passion, innovation and a toolbox of learned skills drive these educators as they navigate the ups and downs of the 2012-2013 school year. Viewers will go into the public school district classrooms of:
Matt Johnson, a 4th grade teacher at McGlone Elementary, Denver; Shelby Harris, 7th grade math teacher at Kuna Middle School, Kuna, Idaho; Joel Laguna, a 10th grade AP World History teacher at Garfield High, Los Angeles; and Lindsay Chinn, a 9th grade algebra teacher at MLK Early College, Denver.
"As the daughter of a New Jersey public school teacher,
Queen Latifah knows first-hand the impact of great teacher," Guggenheim commented. "She brings that understanding and passion, as well as her own tremendous talent to this project."
Guggenheim is best known for groundbreaking documentaries such as "The First Year," his first documentary about public school teachers, "Waiting for Superman" and the Academy Award-winning "An Inconvenient Truth," as well as the successful television series "Deadwood," "Numb3rs," on the Network, and "NYPD Blue."
Participant Media is an award-winning global independent entertainment company known for high-quality films that inspire social change, such as "The Help," "Good Night and Good Luck," "Food Inc.," "The Cove," "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and, most recently, "Lincoln" and "A Place at the Table." Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network TakePart.com, and Pivot, its new television network for Millennials, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.
TEACH, a film by
Davis Guggenheim, is a Participant Media Presentation of a
Pivot Original, and a
Little Room production. It was co-written with David Wild, executive produced by Jeff Skoll and produced by Lisa Zimble and Shannon Dill.
RATING: To Be Announced
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